Our health benefits do not have the same protection as
pension benefits which are partially protected by the Employee Retirement
Income Security Act (ERISA). We are dependent on the Company
carrying out its contracts to provide medical benefits. We intend to
continue to make sure that the Company is aware of member concerns about the
high cost of health benefits and the dwindling level of coverage provided by
the current retiree plan. There are employee groups that have different
coverage or no coverage (as compared to the legacy Raytheon group) and our
goal is to understand these situations and provide help and support and a
voice for their concerns to the extent possible.
We believe the popularity of the various health related
articles in past issues of our newsletters have resulted in more informed
decision making by our fellow retirees. We intend to continue that
service and in fact improve and expand it to cover more items of interest to
retirees throughout our nation.
The first priority of the Association is the preservation
of the current level of pension benefits whether those benefits are provided
through the legacy Raytheon Salaried or Hourly pension plans or through
other pension plans. As with retiree health, we recognize that we do not
have complete visibility on all pension plans. We will work to close that
knowledge gap and serve all retirees of the Company. We intend to monitor
any pension plan amendments and all other aspects of plan performance such
as the plan investment experience and the Company’s funding policy that
directly affect the security of the promised benefits.
The directors are aware of a recent plan amendment to the
Raytheon Salaried Plan which effectively cuts off membership to new hires.
In taking this step, Raytheon is following a troublesome national trend to
cut back defined pension plan benefits. It is our goal to make the Company
more thoughtful in dealing with the pension benefits of both active and
retired employees. We will do that with your help by trying to stay out in
front of Company initiatives and we must make sure that the Company knows
that retirees are former employees and stakeholders in the Company just as
shareholders are.
You can help by informing the Association of any changes
that come to your attention, e.g., notices posted on Company bulletin boards
about plans. As an Association we will work to gather plan documents,
financial, actuarial and other information about the Plans and the Company.
We will employ actuaries and accountants, if appropriate, in order to make
employees and retirees less helpless in the face of Company cost cutting.
Another goal is to make sure that pension benefits are
being administered correctly and efficiently. Please keep the
Association informed of problems. We cannot directly solve problems but we
will try to point you in the right direction and we will keep a tally and
make sure the Company is aware of common deficiencies.
Since its inception, the Association has worked to have
the Company provide a cost of living increase in pension payments to
retirees even if only to those retirees with the greatest need.
The Company has answered the request with a clear denial
of any intent to consider a COLA. The Association will not give up on the
goal of achieving some contribution to the financial relief of the most
deserving of our fellow retirees. The optimum situation would be one where
the Company is convinced that dealing with the plight of retirees in some
way is in their interest. The Association will work to that end. As with
other goals, the more information the Association has, the more it can do to
formulate a plan of action. Please keep us informed of extreme situations.
